Page 54 - F. Cell biology

[F. Cell biology-31]

Continuous exposure to 60 Hz uniform electromagnetic field

promotes human cell proliferation by increasing

mitochondrial reactive oxygen species

Donghwa Suh¹, Dae Yong Um², Sang Hyeon Im², Gwan Soo Park², Kiwon Song¹˙*

¹Department of Biochemistry, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, South Korea, ²Department of Electrical Engineering,

Pusan National University, Pusan 46241, South Korea

Electrical wire is distributed throughout the city to maintain modern civilization, and the majority of them generate
extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs). However, the physiological effect of such EMFs on

human body is very controversial. This study aims to observe the cellular effect of strong EMFs, greater than 10 mT.
Here, we tested the cellular effect of these ELF-EMFs on various human cells, including human cervical carcinoma

HeLa, liver cancer stem cells Huh7 and Hep3B, immortalized normal hepatic cell MIHA, and normal fibroblast IMR-
90. Cell proliferation was promoted in all cells through continuous EMFs exposure for 72 hours, and its effect was

reversible after removing the EMFs. In human cells exposed to EMFs, the expression of phosphorylated Erk1/2 was
increased, but significant cell cycle disturbance was not observed. Notably, the level of mitochondrial reactive oxygen

species (mtROS) was slightly increased in exposed cells. It suggests EMFs may activate the electron transport system
and ATP synthesis, causing an increase of mtROS. We hypothesized that the increase in ATP generation and/or

mtROS cause cell proliferation and various physiological changes. Currently, we are investigating the specific
molecular mechanism of increased mtROS by EMFs.